Treatment of human amnion U cells with interferon increased the steady state level of mRNA encoding the double-stranded (ds) RNA-specific adenosine deaminase (AdD) as measured by Northern gel-blot analysis. A single major dsRNA-specific AdD transcript of approximately 6.7 kb was detected; the transcript was induced by both interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). Likewise, Western immunoblot analysis revealed that a 150-kDa protein recognized by antiserum prepared against recombinant dsRNA-specific AdD was increased in the human amnion U and neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell lines treated with interferon. Both IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma induced the 150-kDa protein. These results, which establish that dsRNA-specific AdD is an IFN-inducible protein in human cells, have implications regarding the possible role of interferon in persistent viral infections.