ZSCAN25 is annotated in UniProt as a protein that may be involved in transcriptional regulation, and it localises to the nucleus. Its function has not been defined in detail, so current understanding rests largely on its domain composition and family membership rather than on a characterised mechanism. The NCBI Gene summary notes that the protein bears some similarity to zinc finger proteins, a class known for DNA binding and protein-protein interactions.

The ZSCAN25 gene belongs to the Krueppel C2H2-type zinc finger protein family. HGNC places it in three related groups: C2H2-type zinc fingers, SCAN domain containing proteins, and KRAB domain containing proteins. This combination of domains is typical of proteins that are studied as candidate regulators of gene expression. The ZSCAN25 protein can therefore be considered in the context of other SCAN-containing zinc finger proteins, such as ZSCAN16.

According to RefSeq, multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants of the gene have been identified, although the full-length nature of most of them has not been determined. Researchers working with ZSCAN25 should keep this transcript diversity in mind when interpreting expression data. The protein was previously named zinc finger protein 498 (ZNF498), and the alias FLJ32468 also appears in the literature and in databases.