A Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line expressing recornbinant human interferon-y (IFN-y) was grown under glucose limitation in a chemostat at a constant dilution rate of 0.015 h-' with glucose feed concentrations of 2.75 mM and 4 2 5 mM. The changes in cell concentration that accompanied changes in the glucose feed concentration indicated that the cells were glucose-limited. The cell yield on glucose remained constant, but there was a decline in residual glucose concentration and a reduced lactate yield from glucose in the latter stages of the culture. The consumption rates for many of the essential amino acids were increased later in the culture. The volumetric rate of interferon-y production was maintained throughout the course of this culture, indicating that IFN-y expression was stable under these conditions. However, the specific rate of IFN-y production was significantly lower at the higher glucose feed concentration. Under glucose limitation, the proportion of fully glycosylated IFN-y produced by these cells was less than that produced in the early stages of batch cultures. The proportion of fully glycosylated IFN-y increased during transient periods of glucose excess, suggesting that the culture environment influences the glycosylation of IFN-y