The aim of the work was to evaluate whether rat corneal epithelial (RtCE) cell line, spontaneously established from rat corneal epithelium in our laboratory, could be used for the evaluation of cornea inflammatory state. Production of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha by RtCE line in response to a non-specific irritating agent (Triton) was tested. Supernatants from RtCE cells treated for 1 h with 20 microM, 50 microM and 100 microM Triton, were collected after 1 and 24 h, and tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha. The control groups did not produce significant levels of any of the cytokines. However, after stimulation with Triton, the cells did not produce TNF-alpha, while the concentration of IL-1beta and IL-6 increased over 10 times. These results show that in response to a proinflammatory agent RtCE line produces cytokines that could be used for measuring the effect of irritants on the cornea.