Almost 50% of infertility cases are due to male factors, and spermatogenesis failure is one of the most severe forms of male infertility. Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) also known as germ cell aplasia is characterized by azoospermia in which the seminiferous tubules of testicular biopsy are lined only with Sertoli cells. The definitive diagnosis of SCOS is by diagnostic testicular biopsy. Although SCOS may be a result of Klinefelter syndrome, most of the SCOS men have a normal karyotype. Along with genetic aberrations, signaling pathways and endocrine processes might be major factors in the development of SCOS. Sperm retrieval and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are available treatments for SCOS. However, some SCOS patients do not have therapeutic options to help them having a biological child. This review aims to summarize our present knowledge about SCOS and to highlight the importance of future researches in the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder.

近50%的不育症病例是由男性因素造成的，而精子发生障碍是男性不育症最严重的形式之一。仅支持细胞综合征 (SCOS) 也称为生殖细胞发育不全，其特征是无精子症，其中睾丸活检的生精小管仅排列有支持细胞。SCOS 的明确诊断是通过诊断性睾丸活检进行。尽管 SCOS 可能是 Klinefelter 综合征的结果，但大多数 SCOS 男性的核型正常。除了遗传畸变之外，信号通路和内分泌过程可能是 SCOS 发生的主要因素。精子取出和胞浆内单精子注射 (ICSI) 是 SCOS 的可用治疗方法。然而，一些 SCOS 患者没有治疗选择来帮助他们生育亲生孩子。本综述旨在总结我们目前对 SCOS 的了解，并强调未来研究在该疾病诊断和治疗方面的重要性。