Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a neuropeptide belonging to the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide/glucagon/secretin family. It is widely distributed in the body, and a variety of biological actions have been reported. PACAP exerts its biological effects by binding to specific receptors that are coupled to GTP-binding proteins. Recent studies have shown that there is a family of PACAP receptors (PACAPRs), and two members of this family have been identified. We report here the cloning, functional expression, and tissue distribution of a third PACAPR subtype, designated PACAPR-3. The cDNA encoding PACAPR-3 has been isolated from a mouse insulin-secreting beta-cell line MIN6 cDNA library. Mouse PACAPR-3 is a protein of 437 amino acids that has 50% and 51% identity with rat PACAP type I and type II receptors, respectively. Expression of recombinant mouse PACAPR-3 in mammalian cells shows that it binds to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide as well as PACAP-38 and -27, with a slightly higher affinity for PACAP-38, and is positively coupled to adenylate cyclase. The expression of PACAPR-3 in Xenopus oocytes indicates that calcium-activated chloride currents are evoked by PACAP and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, suggesting that PACAPR-3 can also be coupled to phospholipase C. RNA blot analysis studies reveal that PACAPR-3 mRNA is expressed at high levels in MIN6, at moderate levels in pancreatic islets and other insulin-secreting cell lines, HIT-T15 and RINm5F, as well as in the lung, brain, stomach, and colon, and at low levels in the heart. Furthermore, insulin secretion from MIN6 cells is significantly stimulated by PACAP-38. These results suggest that the diverse biological effects of PACAP are mediated by a family of structurally related proteins and that PACAPR-3 participates in the regulation of insulin secretion.