BACKGROUND: Cholinergic neuron directly participants in human motion, learning and memory and is a target cell for multiple degenerative diseases of central nervous system. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the mitotic cell is the radial glial cell expressing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in ventricle zone (VZ) of telencephalon and whether cholinergic neuron is derived from radial glial cell in ventricle zone of telencephalon. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Department of Histology and Embryology, Basic Medical College of Jilin University. MATERIALS: Nine healthy Wistar rats included 6 females and 3 male. Male and female rats were mated routinely, and the day when spermatozoa or vaginal plug were found was regarded as embryonic 0 (E0). Primary monoclonal antibodies ChAT and vimentin were provided respectively by Wuhan Boster Company, and Biogenex Company, USA. METHODS: The experiment was carried out in the Laboratory of Cell Culture and Immunohistochemistry, Department of Histology and Embryology from march 2002 to January 2003. Firstly, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was used to confirm the time of generation of cholinergic neuron; secondly, telencephalons of rats at embryonic 14 days (E14) were performed coronary sections, then immunohistochemistry double staining for vimentin (a protein marker of radial neuroglia cell) and ChAT (a protein marker of cholinergic neuron) were used to test whether ChAT was expressed in the radial neuroglia cells. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Fluorescence-activated cell numbers of ChAT in telencephalon; ② results of immunohistochemistry double staining. RESULTS: It is confirmed using by flow cytometer that embryogenesis time of cholinergic neuron was at E12,and shown the population of cells in VZ of dorsal telencephalon of E14 rat co-expressed vimentin and ChAT through immunohistochemistry double staining. A lot of vimentin-positive cells and ChAT-positive cells respectively were observed in VZ of lateral ganglionic eminence. CONCLUSION: Cholinergic neuron in cerebral cortex is derived from radial glial cells in VZ of dorsal telencephalon; meanwhile, cholinergic neuron of striatum is derived from radial glial cells in VZ of lateral ganglionic eminence. BACKGROUND: Cholinergic neuron directly participants in human motion, learning and memory and is a target cell for multiple degenerative diseases of central nervous system. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the mitotic cell is the radial glial cell expressing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in ventricle zone ( VZ) of telencephalon and whether cholinergic neuron is derived from radial glial cell in ventricle zone of telencephalon. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Department of Histology and Embryology, Basic Medical College of Jilin University. MATERIALS: Nine healthy Wistar rats included 6 females and Male and female rats were mated routinely, and the day when spermatozoa or vaginal plug were found as expressed as embryonic 0 (E0). Primary monoclonal antibodies ChAT and vimentin were provided respectively by Wuhan Boster Company, and Biogenex Company, USA. METHODS: The experiment was carried out in the Laboratory of Cell Culture and Immunohistochemistry, Department of Hist † and Embryology from march 2002 to January 2003. Firstly, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was used to confirm the time of generation of cholinergic neuron; secondly, telencephalons of rats at embryonic 14 days (E14) were performed coronary sections, then immunohistochemistry double staining for vimentin (a protein marker of radial neuroglia cell) and ChAT (a protein marker of cholinergic neuron) were used to test whether ChAT was expressed in the radial neuroglia cells. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Fluorescence-activated cell numbers of ChAT in telencephalon; ② results of by cytometry that embryogenesis time of cholinergic neuron was at E12, and shown the population of cells in VZ of dorsal telencephalon of E14 rat co-expressed vimentin and ChAT through A lot of vimentin-positive cells and ChAT-positive cells were observed in VZ of lateral ganglion ic eCONCLUSION: Cholinergic neuron in cerebral cortex is derived from radial glial cells in VZ of dorsal telencephalon; meanwhile, cholinergic neuron of striatum is derived from radial glial cells in VZ of lateral ganglionic eminence.