Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) is a potent mitogen promoting both tumor cell survival and tumor-induced angiogenesis. It is secreted by an unconventional secretory mechanism that is based upon direct translocation across the plasma membrane. Key steps of this process are (i) phosphoinositide-dependent membrane recruitment, (ii) FGF2 oligomerization and membrane pore formation, and (iii) extracellular trapping mediated by membrane-proximal heparan sulfate proteoglycans. Efficient secretion of FGF2 is supported by Tec kinase that stimulates membrane pore formation based upon tyrosine phosphorylation of FGF2. Here, we report the biochemical characterization of the direct interaction between FGF2 and Tec kinase as well as the identification of small molecules that inhibit (i) the interaction of FGF2 with Tec, (ii) tyrosine phosphorylation of FGF2 mediated by Tec in vitro and in a cellular context, and (iii) unconventional secretion of FGF2 from cells. We further demonstrate the specificity of these inhibitors for FGF2 because tyrosine phosphorylation of a different substrate of Tec is unaffected in their presence. Building on previous evidence using RNA interference, the identified compounds corroborate the role of Tec kinase in unconventional secretion of FGF2. In addition, they are valuable lead compounds with great potential for drug development aiming at the inhibition of FGF2-dependent tumor growth and metastasis.Although the majority of secretory proteins carry signal peptides for endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi-dependent secretion, a set of important growth factors and cytokines involved in tumor-induced angiogenesis and inflammatory responses makes use of alternative routes. These processes have collectively been termed "unconventional protein secretion" (1-5). FGF2 and IL1 are prominent examples for secretory proteins that make use of such pathways (4 -12). The molecular mechanism by which IL1 is secreted from cells is debated and may differ in some aspects between various kinds of immune cells (4,5,10,(13)(14)(15)(16). By contrast, the mechanism of the unconventional secretory pathway of FGF2 is emerging with great molecular detail (12). It is based upon direct translocation of folded species of FGF2 across plasma membranes (9,(17)(18)(19)(20). Hallmarks of this process are (i) FGF2 recruitment at the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane mediated by the phosphoinositide PI(4,5)P 2 2 (9, 21, 22), (ii) FGF2 oligomerization and membrane pore formation (11,12,23,24), and (iii) extracellular trapping of FGF2 mediated by membrane-proximal heparan sulfate proteoglycans (1,2,25,26). Recently, these hallmarks of FGF2 secretion have also been implicated in unconventional secretion of HIV-Tat (HIV trans-activator of transcription) (12, 27-30). Based on a genome-wide RNAi screening approach, two additional factors physically associated with the plasma membrane have been identified to play a role in FGF2 secretion, Tec kinase (9, 11, 12, 24, 31) and ATP1A1 (12, 32-34), the ␣ subunit of the Na/K-ATPase (35). Although t...