OXIDATIVE STRESS AS THE INITIATING TRIGGER OF INNATE IMMUNE ACTIVATION AND MELANOCYTE AUTOANTIGEN EXPOSURE IN VITILIGO PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

Abstract

This study examines the primacy of oxidative stress-mediated cellular injury in initiating the autoimmune cascade against melanocytes in vitiligo. Through quantification of reactive oxygen species, antioxidant enzyme deficiency profiling, and innate immune activation markers in lesional and perilesional skin, the research establishes oxidative melanocyte stress as the upstream pathophysiological event that bridges intrinsic metabolic vulnerability with adaptive autoimmune perpetuation.