Uterine-derived factors are essential for conceptus development and secretion of the maternal recognition of pregnancy factor, interferon- (IFNT), in ruminant species. The objectives of this study were to determine if fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) is expressed in the bovine uterus during early pregnancy in cattle and to determine if FGF-2 supplementation affects IFNT mRNA and protein abundance in bovine trophectoderm. FGF-2 mRNA was present in endometrium throughout the estrous cycle and was localized to the luminal and glandular endometrial epithelium at day 17-18 post-estrus in pregnant and non-pregnant cows. Immunoreactive FGF-2 protein was detected within the endometrium and in the uterine lumen at day 17-18 post-estrus and concentrations did not differ based on pregnancy status. In a bovine trophectoderm cell line, CT-1, supplementation of medium with 1 ng/ml FGF-2 increased the incorporation of [³H]-thymidine into DNA. Similarly, IFNT secretion from CT-1 cells increased following FGF-2 supplementation (1 to 100 ng/ml) for 72-h. Abundance of IFNT mRNA in CT-1 cells increased following 24-h exposure to 1, 10 or 100 ng/ml FGF-2. In bovine blastocysts, FGF-2 supplementation did not affect cell number after 72 h culture but did stimulate IFNT protein concentrations in conditioned medium. In summary, FGF-2 is present in the uterine lumen during early pregnancy and increases IFNT mRNA and protein abundance in trophectoderm. The magnitude by which FGF-2 stimulates IFNT expression suggests that this uterine-derived factor plays an active role in regulating the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in ruminants.