In HMECs, we observed a time-dependent increase in the expression levels of both FGF2 and FGFR1, with the maximum increase at 6 h post-infection (3.06 ± 0.2- and 3.01 ± 0.5-fold, respectively, p ≤ 0.01) (Figure 2A). This evidence concerns the gene FGF2 and infection.