Total RNA extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes of a patient with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and the poly (A+) RNA was purified. A cDNA library was constructed and approximately 4,000 clones were screened in order to identify genes preferentially expressed in CLL. A relatively low repetition frequency characterizes the majority of the abundant mRNA species present in CLL lymphocytes. One clone, corresponding to the mRNA encoding the HLA-DR-associated invariant chain, was selected and its expression was examined in different leukemic cell populations and in normal tissues. DNA-RNA hybridization studies showed that the invariant chain mRNA (In-mRNA) is detectable in RNA preparations from human blood cells and their precursors, whereas no In-mRNA is found in several other tissues examined. Among various normal and leukemic leukocyte populations, the highest levels of In- mRNA are found in CLL. Therefore, a role of In-chain mRNA as a marker of CLL is proposed. Our data support a relationship between high levels of invariant chain mRNA and the out of cycle condition of CLL peripheral blood lymphocytes.