To assess the potential contribution of RV-mediated cytotoxicity on bFGF release by bronchial epithelial cells, we infected the BEAS2B cells with RV1b under conditions of high and low cytotoxicity (sparse and dense cultures, respectively, with sparse cultures roughly corresponding to the partially denuded bronchial airway mucosa in asthma) and estimated the bFGF that was subsequently released. This evidence concerns the gene FGF2 and asthma.