High levels of inflammatory cytokines in early KS lesions trigger endothelial cells to express activation markers including vascular cell adhesion molecules, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), α5β1 and αVβ3 integrins, growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and inflammatory and angiogenic cytokines acting in both paracrine and autocrine manner. Here, FGF2 is linked to Kaposi's sarcoma.