Characteristics of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP)-induced increase of Ca(2+) entry and catecholamine (CA) release were studied in bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin cells. PACAP induced intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration (Ca(2+)), showing an initial transient Ca(2+) rise followed by a sustained rise and CA release, which were not blocked by the blocking agents for nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) channel, the voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channel (VOC), or the Na(+) channel. The sarcoendoplasmic Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitors thapsigargin and cyclopiazonic acid did not affect the PACAP-induced sustained rise of Ca(2+), but did inhibit the initial Ca(2+) rise. In cells pretreated with cyclopiazonic acid or membrane-permeable, low-affinity Ca(2+) chelator N',N',N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine, PACAP further stimulated the entry of Ca(2+) or Mn(2+), whereas these treatments masked Ca(2+) dynamics induced by bradykinin. PACAP-induced sustained Ca(2+) rise and Mn(2+) entry were enhanced by acidic extracellular solution and reduced by alkalinization, whereas thapsigargin-induced Mn(2+) entry was regulated by the opposite. PACAP-induced Ca(2+) rise and Mn(2+) entry were not affected by blockers of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, phospholipase C, or protein kinase C. All store-operated Ca(2+) channel (SOC) blocking agents tested inhibited thapsigargin-induced Mn(2+) entry. 1(beta-[3-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-propoxy]-4-methoxyphenylethyl)-1H-imidazole hydrochloride (SK&F 96365), (R,S)-(3,4-dihydro-6,7-dimethoxy-isoquinoline-1-yl)-2-phenyl-N,N-di-[2-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl)ethyl]-acetamide, and econazole inhibited PACAP-induced Ca(2+) or Mn(2+) entry, whereas GdCl(3), 7,8-benzoflavone, nor-dihydroguaiaretic acid, 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid, fulfenamic acid, and niflumic acid did not. SK&F 96365 and econazole but not GdCl(3) inhibited PACAP-induced CA release. These results suggest that PACAP activates a novel Ca(2+) entry pathway associated with sustained CA release independent of the nAChR channel, VOC and SOC, activated by acid pH, with different sensitivity to blockers of SOC. This pathway may provide a useful model for the study of receptor-operated Ca(2+) entry.