Enhanced Rap1 small GTPase activity in the ventral hippocampus drives stress-induced anxiety.

Chronic stress exposure is a primary contributor to the development of anxiety disorders, closely associated with hippocampal dysfunction. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, using a mouse model of chronic restraint stress (CRS), we observed a notable increase in the activity, rather than its overall expression level, of hippocampal Rap1, a small guanosine triphosphatase belonging to the Ras superfamily.