OBJECTIVE: We have previously demonstrated that ischemic cardiomyopathy is associated with selective impairment of progenitor cell function in the bone marrow and in the peripheral blood, which may contribute to an unfavorable left ventricular remodeling process. METHODS AND RESULTS: With this study, we intended to identify the influence of telomere length on bone marrow functionality in 50 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and previous myocardial infarction. Mean telomere length (mTL) was measured simultaneously in peripheral blood leukocytes and mononuclear bone marrow cells (BMC), using the flow-FISH method. Telomere erosion already occurred at the bone marrow level, whereby age (39 bp/yr, P=0.025) and the number of affected vessels (434 bp/vessel, P=0.029) were the only independent predictors. Lymphocytes demonstrated significant TL shortening between BMCs and peripheral blood in CAD patients (-1011+/-897 bp) as opposed to an increase in a young control group (+235+/-459 bp, P
