Verots S3 cells derived from Vero-317 cells which can grow in biotin-containing MEM medium mere successfully cultured in a protein-free medium with a porous cellulose carrier. The growth of Verots S3 cells without a carrier was inhibited because they easily aggregated under excessive shear stress, but the cells grew very quickly when cultured with the porous cellulose carrier. This improvement in cell growth was thought to be due to the protection from fluid shear stress afforded by the porous structure of the carrier. Production of human growth hormone (hGH) by repeated batch cultivation of Verots S3 cells was much better with than without the carrier. Cultivation with a temperature shift from 39 to 33 degrees C gave hGH production up to 400% higher in a spinner culture with the cellulose carrier. For large-scale cultivation, temperature sensitive Verots S3 cells were cultivated with the porous cellulose carrier in a rotary column bioreactor and the perfusion culture results showed that the cell density inside the carrier increased up to 7.9 x 10(8) cells . ml-carrier(-1) in 2 weeks. No concentration gradient of the cells in the rotary column was observed.