Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor II (FGF2), or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), is an important regulator in bone and craniofacial development. FGF2 regulates cell survival, proliferation, migration, multilineage differentiation, and stemness in stromal cells. While there is broad interest in utilizing FGF2 for bone and craniofacial tissue repair and regeneration, the literature and reported data are often inconsistent or even controversial due to its multifunctional nature. Therefore, the outcomes are dependent on dose, duration, timing of administration, spatiotemporal pattern of the FGF2 delivery, and the microenvironment. This review paper aims to discuss FGF2 signaling and its related pathways, as well as mechanisms in vitro, in vivo, and in clinical applications of FGF2 in inducing osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) for craniofacial bone regeneration.