A mouse hybridoma cell line IIB9, secreting IgG2b antibody specific for a HeLa cell antigen, was obtained by fusion of a mouse myeloma cell line with spleen cells from mice immunized with purified VSV tsO45 mutant (defective in assembly of G protein) which had been reproduced at a non-permissive temperature in HeLa cells. The monoclonal antibody IIB9 was strictly specific for HeLa cells in two tests: (1) reaction with VSV or Chandipura virus phenotypically mixed with host cell antigen, (2) complement-dependent cytotoxicity test (51Cr-release).