Background: Sulphur mustard (SM) is a very reactive agent and causes severe chemical burns. In addition to various cellular and molecular damages, SM affects the expression of several genes. The main aim of this study was to review SM-induced gene expression alterations. Furthermore, using enrichment analysis, we tried to identify the most important molecular functions involved in the occurrence of SM injury, based on the found gene sets. Methods: With the aim of finding genes associated with SM-induced injuries, the literature was reviewed and data were collected manually. All animal, in vitro and human studies, regardless of ethnicity and sample size, were included in the study. Gene Ontology (GO) database was used for gene set functional enrichment analysis. Five animal studies, eight in-vitro studies, and six human studies from 1996 to 2016 were thoroughly reviewed and discussed in more detail. The functional enrichment of the animal and in vitro gene sets showed that cytokine system activity and growth factor receptor binding are the most important functions involved in the occurrence of SM injury. The functional enrichment of the human gene set showed that in addition to the cytokine system, disrupting the antioxidant system may also play a major role in causing injuries. Results: According to our results, the simultaneous administration of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents on SM-induced injuries seems to be a significant issue for future studies. Conclusion: Our findings largely depend on the previous results and may be affected by novel findings in the future.
