FGF2 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2, also known as basic fibroblast growth factor, bFGF), a potent mitogen for fibroblasts, has been reported to be overexpressed in severe asthma and COPD, particularly patients with exacerbated COPD and smokers with chronic bronchitis (Redington et al., 2001; Kranenburg et al., 2005; Guddo et al., 2006; Pavlisa et al., 2010).