(R)-1-[2,3-dihydro-1-(2'-methylphenacyl)-2-oxo-5-phenyl-1H-1,4- benzodiazepin-3-yl]-3-(3-methylphenyl)urea (YM022) is an extremely potent and highly selective gastrin/cholecystokinin (CCK)-B receptor antagonist. We compared the gastrin/CCK-B receptor-blocking properties of this compound with those of the racemate (mixture of YM022 and its S-form), its enantiomer (S-form), L-365, 260 and Cl-988 in vitro and in vivo. YM022 replaced specific binding of [125I]CCK-8 to rat brain gastrin/CCK-B receptors in a stereoselective and competitive manner. The Ki value of YM022 for gastrin/CCK-B receptors in brain were estimated to be 0.068 nM. The racemate, the S-form of YM022, L-365,260 and Cl-988 also replaced gastrin/CCK-B receptor binding, with Ki values of 0.11, 140, 19 and 6.3 nM, respectively. The affinity of YM022 for gastrin/CCK-B receptor was more than 2 orders of magnitude higher than that for rat pancreatic CCK-A receptor and various other receptors, such as benzodiazepine. In vivo, intravenous (i.v.) administration of YM022 inhibited pentagastrin-induced gastric acid secretion in anesthetized rats, with an ED50 value of 0.0078 mumol/kg. Inhibition by the S-form of YM022 was only 33.8% even at the relatively high dose of 1 mumol/kg i.v. L-365,260 (1-10 mumol/kg i.v.) and Cl-988 (0.3-3 mumol/kg i.v.) also antagonized acid secretion induced by pentagastrin, with ED50 values of 4.23 and 1.01 mumol/kg, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)