Basic fibroblast growth factor, also known as bFGF, FGF2 or FGF-β, is a member of the fibroblast growth factor family. During both wound healing of normal tissues and tumor development, the action of heparan sulfate-degrading enzymes activates bFGF to mediate angiogenesis. In addition, it is synthesized and secreted by human adipocytes and the concentration of bFGF correlates with the BMI in blood samples. It is shown that low levels of FGF2 play a key role in the incidence of excessive anxiety. Additionally, bFGF is a critical component of human embryonic stem cell culture medium; the growth factor is necessary for the cells to remain in an undifferentiated state. bFGF, in conjunction with BMP4, promote differentiation of stem cells to mesodermal lineages. After differentiation, BMP4 and FGF2 treated cells generally produces higher amounts of osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation than untreated stem cells.