Cell Illustrator Tutorial I
Basic Concepts

Human Genome Center,
Institute of Medical Science,
University of Tokyo

support@genomicobject.net

Copyright Miyano Laboratory

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Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo

Contents
1 PREFACE

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2 INTRODUCTION TO CELL ILLUSTRATOR
2.1 Installation and Execution of Cell Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.2 Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.3 Unix (excluding Linux) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.4 Mac OS X (Classic is not supported) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 License Term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3 CELL ILLUSTRATOR ELEMENTS
3.1 Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Entity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3 Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4 Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5 Graphical Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.1 Entity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5.2 Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.6 Element Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4 INVOKING CELL ILLUSTRATOR AND CREATING A MODEL (BASIC)
4.1 Adding Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1 Adding an Entity/a Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.2 Adding a Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Modifying a Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.1 Modifying an Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.2 Moving an Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.3 Cutting, Copying, and Pasting an Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.4 Other Edit Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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5 SIMULATION (BASIC)
5.1 Setting up a Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Setting up a Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 Running a Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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6 SIMULATION RULES (BASIC)
6.1 Model with Discrete Entities and Discrete Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.1 Initial Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.2 Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.3 Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.4 Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2 The Concepts of Discrete and Continuous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3 Model with Continuous Entities and Continuous Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.1 Initial Value and Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.2 Speed and Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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7 MODELING BASIC BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES WITH CI
7.1 Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2 Translocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.3 Transcription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.4 Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.5 Dissociation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.6 Inhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.7 Phosphorylation Mediated by Enzymatic Reactions - Association Connectors . . . . .
7.8 Enzymatic Catalysis - Michaelis-Menten Kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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REFERENCES

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This document is mainly translated from Japanese manual of Masao Nagasaki by Enua Jeong.

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1

PREFACE

Cell IllustratorTM (CI) is a software tool that enables biologists to model, elucidate and simulate
complex biological processes and systems [13]. It allows researchers to model metabolic pathways,
signal transduction cascades, gene regulatory pathways, microRNA regulatory networks, as well as
dynamic interactions of various biological entities, such as genomic DNA, mRNA and proteins. Cell
Illustrator models are used to visualize biopathways, interpret experimental data and test hypotheses.
In addition, it provides researchers diagrams of publication quality, and simulation result charts. Cell
Illustrator has been successfully utilized to model biological pathways like the gene regulation of
circadian rhythms in Drosophila and mouse, glycolytic pathway of E. coli, the boundary formation bynotch signaling in Drosophila, the apoptosis induced by Fas ligand, p53 related pathways in mammals,
and the cell fate of gustatory neurons with microRNA regulations in C. elegans [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 15]. This manual describes version 3.0 of Cell Illustrator (CI3.0). Using the graphical user interface
environment, researchers can create and simulate their own molecular pathway models. Some of the
key features of Cell Illustrator are:(a) Pathway construction and visualization - constructing models graphically by simply draggingand-dropping entities representing bio-components in the biological pathways.
(b) Pathways simulation - building mathematical models of biochemical reactions.
(c) Simulation animation - Cell Illustrator’s simulation results can be saved into an animation script
file and then used as an input to Cell Animator - a module that produces high quality presentationof the studied mechanism’s dynamic behavior.
(d) Models import - importing previously created models, or sub-models from public or proprietarylibraries and databases like KEGG [11, 14]. Pathway models in other formats, e.g. SBML andCellML, can be also imported into CI3.0.
(e) Models distribution - a pathway model in CI3.0 can be saved as a XML (named Cell System
Markup Language [16]) file with a simulation log. Cell Illustrator Player, which is a free software
distributed together with CI3.0, can load the model from the log file, and replay the simulation.
Thus, once you create a model on CI3.0, you can freely distribute the model to any person who
has interest in your model.

Copyright Miyano Laboratory, Masao Nagasaki

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INTRODUCTION TO CELL ILLUSTRATOR

2.1

Installation and Execution of Cell Illustrator

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Cell Illustrator is available for Windows, Linux, Unix and Mac OS X platforms. In order to run Cell
Illustrator, Java (JRE) version 1.5.0 or higher needs to be installed. Java Runtime Environments(JRE) are available for download at http://java.sun.com/downloads/. Alternatively, for Windows
and Linux platforms, you may execute the Cell Illustrator installation package bundled with a Javainstaller. Cell Illustrator installation packages also offer an option to install a beta version of Cell
Animator, a program for animating biological pathways.
2.1.1

Windows

Install Java-bundled version
Step 1 Unpack CI3.0 wj.zip in a temporary directory (to unpack it, use WinZip (http://www.
winzip.com).
Step 2 Double-click on CI3.0 wj.exe to install Cell Illustrator. Java Virtual Machine (JVM) will also
be installed.
Step 3 Launch Cell Illustrator from the Start menu.
Install non Java-bundled version (recommended)
Step 1 Unpack CI3.0 w.zip in a temporary directory.
Step 2 Double-click on CI3.0 w.exe to install Cell Illustrator.
Step 3 Launch Cell Illustrator from the Start menu.
2.1.2

Linux

Install Java-bundled version
Step 1 Copy CI3.0 lj.bin into a temporary directory .
Step 2 Execute “> chmod +x CI3.0 lj.bin” (JRE will be installed at the same time).
Step 3 Execute “> CI3.0 lj.bin”
To invoke Cell Illustrator, go into the newly created directory and run “> ./CI”.
Install non Java-bundled version (recommended)
Step 1 Copy CI3.0 l.bin into a temporary directory.
Step 2 Execute “> chmod +x CI3.0 l.bin”.
Step 3 Execute “> CI3.0 lj.bin”.
To invoke Cell Illustrator, go into CI directory and execute “> ./CI”.

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Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo
Unix (excluding Linux)

Install non Java-bundled version (If you need JRE, download JRE from http://java.
sun.com)
Step 1 Copy CI3.0 u.jar into a temporary directory.
Step 2 Execute “> chmod +x CI3.0 u.jar”.
Step 3 Execute “> java -jar CI3.0 u.jar”.
To invoke Cell Illustrator, go to the CI folder and execute “> ./CI”.
2.1.4

Mac OS X (Classic is not supported)

Install non Java (JRE) version (the latest version of JRE can be executed by selecting
update)Step 1 Move CI3.0 m.tgz into the newly created directory.
Step 2 Double-click on CI3.0 m.tgz, start installation.
Step 3 After the installation, a Cell Illustrator icon is generated.
To invoke Cell Illustrator, double-click on the Cell Illustrator icon on the Desktop. To install Cell
Animator on Mac OS X, move CellAnimator.dmg into the same directory thus Cell Illustrator isinstalled in, and double-click CellAnimator.dmg. The Cell Animator icon will appear on the Desktop.

2.2

License Term

If you’re going to run Cell Illustrator, you need to submit a request for a license file from GNI. Please
copy the obtained license file to the directory where Cell Illustrator is installed. For example, on
Windows, Cell Illustrator is installed to “C:\Program Files\GNI\Cell Illustrator” if the default
installation settings are used. The license file can be bound to your machine, or time-limited.
To obtain a hardware-bound license, you need to send your machine hardware identifier (HardwareID) as follows:
Step 1 Select the About Cell Illustrator option from the Help menu.
Step 2 In the About Cell Illustrator dialog, select the “Serial Number” tab and find the “Hardware
ID” item.
Step 3 Click the “Copy” button in the lower left corner of the dialog. The details will be copied tothe clipboard.
Step 4 Paste this text into your message and send it to the Cell Illustrator sales and technical support
team.
If the license is expired, this method cannot be used again. In this case, the use the “Copy” buttonin the dialog acknowledging that the license term is expired, and send the hardware ID to your CI
vendor.

Copyright Miyano Laboratory, Masao Nagasaki

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CELL ILLUSTRATOR ELEMENTS

3.1

Basic Concepts

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Cell Illustrator uses a method based on the Petri net formalism (Hybrid Functional Petri net withextension, HFPNe) to model and simulate biological pathways. HFPNe inherits and enhances theproperties of a Petri net such as:• Pathways can be modeled easily by drawing a graph.
• The pathways are simulatable without any additional work.
• Models of different complexity can be built with the same constituent elements.
Biological pathways are built using three elements: entity, process, and connector. Figure 1 summarizes the elements used in Cell Illustrator.

Discrete
EntityContinuous
Generic

Discrete
Element

Process

Continuous
Generic

Process
Connector

Inhibitory
Association

Figure 1

3.2

EntityA biological object, such as protein or mRNA, is represented by an entity. There are three types ofentities: discrete, continuous and generic (Figure 2). Using entities with different properties makes
models more relevant to a biological pathway.

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Discrete

Generic

Continuous

Figure 2
An entity has three properties. When you add an entity to the canvas in Cell Illustrator, threeeditable properties: Name, Variable, and Initial Value appear in the upper-left, upper-right, andlower-left corners, respectively, as shown in Figure 3. Name is indexed with the prefix ‘e’, Variablewith ‘m’, and Initial Value has a default value of zero.

Name

Variable

Initial Value

cAMP

m1

enzymeA

m2

mRNA

m3

30

123.2

Discrete

Continuous

Generic

EntityEntityEntityAUGC

Figure 3
There are three ways to rename/modify a default name/value of a property:
1. Double-click the text you want to modify in the canvas and directly type a new name (Figure 4).
2. Click the entity in the canvas, select Element Settings menu option from the Dialog menu,
and modify the value of Name/Variable.
3. Click the entity in the canvas, select Element Lists menu option from the Dialog menu andthen Entity tab, and modify the value of Name/Variable by double-clicking the corresponding
property.

Double-click
this point.

Type a new
namedirectly

Figure 4

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3.3

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Process

Processes are used to represent protein responses, activation, binding, development, translocation,transcription, translation, etc.
Like entities, there are also three types of process: discrete, continuous, and generic. The discreteand continuous processes can be used together to represent phenomenon/response depending on therelationship between entities.

Discrete

Continuous

Generic

Figure 5
When a process is added to the canvas, three properties of the process: Name, Delay, and Speedappear in the upper-left, lower-left, and lower-right corners, respectively, as shown in Figure 6. Name
is indexed with a prefix ‘p’, and both Delay and Speed have the default values of zero. Delay can beused only for discrete processes.

Figure 6
There are three ways to rename/modify a default name/value of a property:
1. Double-click the text you want to modify in the canvas and directly type a new name (Figure 7).
2. Click the process in the canvas, select Element Settings menu option from the Dialog menu,
and modify the value of Name/Delay/Speed.
3. Click the process in the canvas, select Element Lists menu option from the Dialog menu andthen Process tab, and modify the value of Name/Delay/Speed by double-clicking the corresponding property.

3.4

Connector

Connectors are used to connect entities with processes (Note that you cannot directly connect two
entities or two processes).

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Double-click
this point.

Type a new
namedirectly

Figure 7
A connector from an entity to a process is called an input connector. One from a process to anentity is called an output connector. However, depending on the type of the entity and the process,some connections are not allowed (this will be explained later in Table 1).
There are three types of connectors: process, inhibitory, and association. All three types of connectors can be used as input connectors, while only a process connector can be used as an output
connector.

Process

Inhibitory

Association

Figure 8
A process connector is used for any type of interaction. To repress any phenomenon/reaction, an
inhibitory connector is used. Association connectors are used to assist/help some processes. The usageof connectors will be described in Section 7.
When a connector is added to the canvas, two properties of the connector, Name and Thresholdappear above and below the connector line as shown in Figure 9. Name is indexed with the prefix ‘c’,and Threshold has the default value of zero.

Figure 9
There are three ways to rename/modify the default names/values of the two properties:
1. Double-click the text you want to modify in the canvas and directly type a new name (Figure 10).

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2. Click the connector, select the Element Settings menu option from the Dialog menu, andchange the contents of the Name/Threshold fields.
3. Click the connector, select Element Lists menu option from the Dialog menu and then Connector tab, and give a new value to Name/Threshold by double-clicking the corresponding
property.

Double-click
this point.

Type a new
namedirectly

Figure 10

3.5

Graphical Elements

Cell Illustrator provides a library of graphical objects, representing biological entities and processes.
Substituting the generic symbols of entities and processes with these elements improves the clarity of
biopathway presentations.
3.5.1

EntityExamples of entities are shown in Figure 11.

Proteins

MRNA

Figure 11

DNA

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Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo
Process

Examples are shown in Figure 12.

Activation

Cleavage

Migration

Transcription

Translation

Degradation

Figure 12

3.6

Element Combinations

There are several rules to follow when combining elements. As described in Section 3.4, it is impossible
to directly connect an entity with an entity, or a process with a process. A connector is needed toconnect an entity with a process. All combinations of entities and processes are presented in Table 1.
Some important rules:
Rule 1 Inhibitory connector and associate connector can be used in all cases, but process connector
cannot connect an entity with a process in certain cases (see rules 2 and 3).
Rule 2 Discrete entities and continuous processes cannot be connected by process connectors.
Rule 3 Generic entities and discrete/continuous processes cannot be connected by input process connectors.
Figure 13 shows an example of a correct connection. On the other hand, if the connection isincorrect, the target element (p1) will not be highlighted, as shown in Figure 14. It is not necessary toremember the rules of combination between elements. Cell Illustrator will detect incorrect connections
for you.

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Figure 13

Figure 14

Table 1Element combinations

connector type

input connector (process)process type
entity typediscrete

continuous

generic

discrete

X–

X

continuous

X

X

X

generic––

X

connector type

input connector (inhibitary/associate)

process type
entity typediscrete

continuous

generic

discrete

X

X

X

continuous

X

X

X

generic

X

X

X

connector typeoutput connector (process)process type
entity typediscrete

continuous

generic

discrete

X–

X

continuous

X

X

X

generic

X

X

X

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4

INVOKING CELL ILLUSTRATOR AND CREATING A MODEL(BASIC)

Upon starting Cell Illustrator, the program pops up a single main window as shown in Figure 15. The
first step in generating a new model is usually creating a new canvas. There are two ways of creating
a canvas:
1. Select the first icon (“Create New Canvas”) in the Left Toolbar.
2. Select the New menu option from the File menu in the Menu Bar.
You can save the created model by selecting Save/Close from FILE in the Menu Bar.

Menu BarTop Toolbar

Left Toolbar

Right Toolbar

CanvasMain Window
Figure 15

4.1
4.1.1

Adding Elements
Adding an Entity/a Process

There are four ways of adding an entity/a process to the canvas:
1. Select one of the icons representing entities and processes from the Top Toolbar (for icons, see
Figures 2 and 5).
2. Click the right mouse button on the canvas and select Insert Entity/Insert Process (Figure 16).
3. Select Insert Entity/Insert Process from Edit in the Menu Bar. The new element will beinserted in the center of the canvas (Figure 17).

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4. In the Menu Bar, select Biological Element from Dialog. Drag and drop a new element.

Figure 16

Figure 17

4.1.2

Adding a Connector

In order to connect an entity and a process, do the following steps:
Step 1 From the Top Toolbar, select one of the connector icons, as shown in Figure 18 (for connectors, see Figure 9).
Step 2 In the canvas, select an entity you want to connect (Figure 19).
Step 3 Move the mouse cursor to the target process and select it (Figure 20).

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There are some limitations in connecting entities and processes. Refer to the rules of combining
elements in Table 1.

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

4.2
4.2.1

Modifying a Model
Modifying an Element

You can modify any element in the model. To do this, click on the Selection Mode button from the
Top Toolbar.
4.2.2

Moving an Element

To move an element, click on the element in the canvas and drag it into the new location. You canalso drag with the mouse to select multiple elements.
4.2.3

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting an Element

In the Selection Mode, after selecting an element, you can cut, copy and paste it in one of several
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1. Clicking the right mouse button brings up a popup menu, which allows you to cut, copy, andpaste an element.
2. In the Menu Bar, select Cut, Copy, or Paste from Edit.
3. By using the keyboard, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V will cut, copy, and paste elements, respectively.
4.2.4

Other Edit Operations

The Top Toolbar contains buttons frequently used for other editing operations. The name and thefunction of each button are summarized in Table 2.

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Table 2
“Edit Parts” – Organize and use a repository of reusable model parts.
“Create Frame” – Create a background frame.
“Create Note” – Annotate the model.
“Manual Move” – Move the canvas without using theNavigator dialog, or the scroll bars.
“Zoom In” – Zoom-in on the canvas.
“Zoom Out” – Zoom-out from the canvas.
“Reset Zoom” – Restore the default magnification.
“Group” – Group together chosen elements to treat them as one for editing.
“Ungroup” – Undo a group operation.
“Load Image” – Load an image and insert it in the canvas.
“Set Color” – Apply a color to selected elements in the canvas as specified
in the Select Color Scope.
,,“Select Color Tool” – Select the scope of Set Color operation: Fill Color, Line Color,
and Text Color, respectively.
“Set Stroke” – Change the stroke pattern of selected elements.
“Toggle Grid Visible Status” – Turn the background grid on or off“Toggle Antialiasing Status” – Turn on or off antialiasing“Go to BioPACS URL” – Import a metabolic pathway from the public KEGG database.

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SIMULATION (BASIC)

After creating a model, you can simulate the behavior of the modeled system. This chapter provides
a brief explanation of setting-up and running a simulation.

5.1

Setting up a Simulation

You can use the Simulation Settings
dialog in the Right Toolbar , which has five options: Sampling
Interval, Plot Update Interval, Log Update Interval, Simulation Time, and Simulation Speed (Figure 21). The Simulation Time sets the duration of the simulation process. All the times are specified
in Petri net time units (pt). For example, if the Simulation Time is set to 10 [pt], the simulation lastsfor 10 [pt] starting from 0 [pt]. The default time is set to 2000 [pt]. In the model shown in Section 7,
Simulation Time 100 [pt] is long enough.

Figure 21

5.2

Setting up a Chart

Entities’ values can change during simulation. These changes can be visualized in a chart. Although
there are several ways of using a chart, we describe the simplest way to do this.
Step 1 Select entities whose values you want to display in a chart. It is possible to select multiple
entities for a simulation (Figure 22).
Step 2 Click the right mouse button and select Create Chart
Figure 23.

. A chart appears, as shown in

However, a chart generated using this method cannot be deleted. The Chart Settings
used for editing and deleting the chart.

5.3

dialog can be

Running a Simulation

Once the simulation and the corresponding chart are set up, you can start and control the simulation.
There are several buttons in the Left Toolbar , controlling the simulation. Their functions are
summarized in Table 3.
Cell Illustrator executes a simulation at speed 1 [pt] per 1 second in real time. The maximum
speed depends on the executing machine.

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Figure 22

Figure 23
Table 3
Start simulation.
Invoke a simulation with animated tokens moving between entities.
Play at high speed.
Play at maximum speed.
Play one step.
Play one step with animated tokens.

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SIMULATION RULES (BASIC)

It is easy to prepare a simulation by connecting entities and processes, as described in Sections 3
and 4. In this section, we explain how a simple model can become a more complicated one by adding
properties of elements. After reading this section you will be able to easily create the model describedin Section 7.

6.1

Model with Discrete Entities and Discrete Processes

First, generate the model shown in Figure 24:
Step 1 Place four discrete entities on the canvas.
Step 2 Place one discrete process on the canvas.
Step 3 Link each of the two entities on the left to the discrete process using process connectors.
Step 4 Connect the discrete process and each of the two remaining entities with connectors.
Step 5 Select all four entities and create a chart for tracking the changes of e1-e4 values.
The values in the entities are transferred from the sources of input connectors (i.e. entities e1 ande2) to the targets of output connectors (i.e. entities e3 and e4). In the model in Figure 24, all entities
have default values of zero. Therefore, these values do not change in the course of simulation as shownin Figure 25.

Figure 24

6.1.1

Initial Value

If the initial values of e1 and e2 are set to 10 (Figure 26), the simulation produces a chart shown in
Figure 27. After the values of e1 and e2 become zero, the progress is stopped, and then the values ofthe entities do not change any more after becoming zero.

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Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

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6.1.2

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Speed

In Figure 27, at the 10 [pt] simulation time, the values of e1 and e2 become zero. If you change thespeed parameter of process p1 from 1 to 2, the values of e1 and e2 will become zero at the 5 [pt], time
as shown in Figure 28. The speed parameter controls the speed of the process.

Figure 28

6.1.3

Delay

Let’s change the delay parameter of the process p1 from 1 to 2. The delay parameter of the processcontrols the time during which this process is suspended. The simulation produces results shown in
Figure 29. At the time of 10 [pt], the values of e1 and e2 become the same as the model in Figure 26.
We see that the values are changed every 1 [pt] in Figure 27, while those in Figure 29 are changed
at every 2 [pt]. The delay parameter is associated with the speed parameter and controls the interval
between the changes of values controlled by the particular process.

Figure 29

6.1.4

ThresholdNow, let’s change the threshold of connector c1 to 5 and run the simulation. The resulting chart isshown in Figure 30. The values of e1 and e2 are not changed after the time of 6 [pt]. The reason isthat if the value of an input entity is smaller than the threshold of the connector, the value of the24

Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo

entity cannot be transmitted to the target process. In order to activate a process, all connectors to
the process must satisfy the above condition. In this example, at the time 6 [pt], the threshold of c3
satisfies the condition, because it is set to zero. However, c1 does not satisfy the condition because its
threshold is set to 5, and becomes larger than the values of e1 and e2 in the course of the simulation.
Therefore the process is stopped.

Figure 30

6.2

The Concepts of Discrete and Continuous

There are two types of objects in Cell Illustrator: discrete and continuous ones. Let us explain theseconcepts using the example of turning on a faucet. When you turn on the faucet (discrete event),
water starts running, and its amount is represented by a continuous value.
Discrete objects values are represented by integer numbers (0, 1, 2, etc.) Cell Illustrator most often
uses discrete objects to represent on/off actions, or phenomena which can be described without assuming continuity of their numerical representation. Conversely, continuous objects and processes are
represented using real numbers. In CI, continuous values are usually associated with concentrations,process rates, time, or similar objects of continuous nature.
The plots in Figure 31 present the difference caused by using continuous vs. discrete objects ina simulation: continuous changes of some values produce smooth lines and curves representing thevalues (a), while discrete ones, represented by integers, yield jagged plots (b).

(a)

(b)
Figure 31

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6.3

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Model with Continuous Entities and Continuous Processes

Let’s generate the model in Figure 32 by the following steps:
Step 1 Place four continuous entities on the canvas.
Step 2 Place one continuous process on the canvas.
Step 3 Link each of the two continuous entities on the left to the continuous process, using processconnectors.
Step 4 Connect the continuous process and each of the two remaining continuous entities using
process connectors.
Step 5 Select all four entities and create a chart.

Figure 32

6.3.1

Initial Value and Threshold

The initial value of a continuous entity is different than that of a discrete one. A continuous entity’svalue can be a real number, like 1.5, 2.5, · · · while a discrete entity holds only integer numbers (0, 1,
2, · · · ). However, the threshold value of a discrete entity can hold real numbers too. The function of
the threshold value in a continuous entity is the same as a discrete entity’s threshold (Section 6.1.4).
6.3.2

Speed and DelayContinuous processes have only the speed parameter, while discrete processes have two parameters:
the speed and the delay. Let’s execute the model presented in Figure 33, and compare the chart withthe one in Figure 27.

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Figure 33

Figure 34

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MODELING BASIC BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES WITH CI

This section explains how to model biopathways using CI.

7.1

Degradation

In a cell, almost all mRNAs and proteins undergo fragmentation at certain speeds. This process iscalled degradation. Let’s create a model of the degradation process:Step 1 Create an entity, change its name to p53, and assign it the initial value of 100.
Step 2 Create a process and assign it the name “degradation”.
Step 3 Connect p53 to the degradation process with a process connector.
Step 4 Set the degradation speed using the speed parameter of the process (the default speed is set
to 1.0).
There are three possible combinations of the pair (entity, process): (discrete, discrete), (continuous,continuous), and (continuous, discrete), shown in Figure 35. The results of the simulation are presented
in Figure 36.

Figure 35

Figure 36
In this newly created model, the degradation speed of p53 does not depend on the value of p53.
In real systems, reaction speeds are usually concentration-dependent. To make the degradation speed
dependent on the concentration of the substrate - p53, the speed parameter should be changed asshown in Figure 37. The results of the simulation are presented in Figure 38.

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Figure 37

Figure 38

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7.2

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Translocation

In a cell, mRNAs and proteins move between organelles e.g. from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, andfrom the nucleus to the Golgi apparatus. A model of translocation can be created:
Step 1 Create two entities, assign them names (e.g. p53 nuclei and p53 cytoplasm) and values (e.g. 100
and 0), respectively.
Step 2 Create a process and assign it a name (e.g. translocation). Connect p53 nuclei to the processwith an input connector, and the process to p53 cytoplasm with an output connector.
Step 3 Set the translocation speed using the speed parameter of the process (the initial speed is 1.0).
Possible combinations of the elements (p53 nuclei, translocation, p53 cytoplasm) are: (discrete, discrete, discrete), (discrete, discrete, continuous), (continuous, discrete, discrete), (continuous, discrete,continuous), and (continuous, continuous, continuous), as shown in Figure 39. The last one was chosen
to be used in the model. The results of the simulation are presented in Figure 40.

Figure 39

Figure 40
To make the translocation speed dependent on the value of the p53 nuclei entity (say, m1), as in
the degradation example (Section 7.1), the process speed should be a function of m1 (e.g. m1/10)(Figure 41). The behaviour of this more realistic model is shown in Figure 42.

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Figure 41

Figure 42

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7.3

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Transcription

Step 1 Create a process and assign it a name (e.g. transcription).
Step 2 Create an entity and assign it a name (e.g. mRNA p53).
Step 3 Connect the transcription process to the mRNA p53 entity with a process connector.
Step 4 Set the transcription speed using the speed parameter of the transcription process (the default
speed is set to 1.0).
In Step 1 and Step 2, the possible combinations of the pair (transcription, mRNA p53) are (discrete,
discrete), (discrete, continuous), and (continuous, continuous), as shown in Figure 43. The results ofthe simulation are presented in Figure 44.

Figure 43

Figure 44
In general, the mRNA synthesis and degradation occur simultaneously. The models presented
in Figure 45 combine the transcription process with the degradation process. The results of thesimulation are presented in Figure 46.

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Figure 45

Figure 46

7.4

Binding

In a cell, two proteins can bind together to create a complex. A model for binding can be created:
Step 1 Create three continuous entities and assign them names (e.g. p53, mdm2, p53 mdm2) andvalues (e.g. 100, 50, 0 respectively).
Step 2 Create one continuous process and assign it a name (e.g. binding).
Step 3 Connect two entities, p53 and mdm2, to the binding process, and the binding process to
p53 mdm2.
Step 4 Set the binding speed using the speed parameter of the binding process (the binding speed
defaults to 1.0).

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Figure 47
Test the created model - the values of the entities should change as shown in Figure 48

Figure 48
The kinetics of binding depends on the concentrations of the proteins, so the model needs to bemodified accordingly. Set the speed of process to m1*m2/400. Note that this formula is the wellknown kinetic equation: v=[m1]*[m2]*k, where: ’v’ is the process speed, ’[m1]’ and ’[m2]’ are theproteins’ concentrations, and ’k’ is the kinetic constant. Such a system behaves in the way shown in
Figure 48.

Figure 49

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Figure 50

7.5

Dissociation

Dissociation is a process reverse to binding (7.4). Create a model:
Step 1 Create three continuous entities and assign them names (e.g. p53, mdm2, and p53 mdm2)
and values (e.g. 50, 0, and 50 respectively).
Step 2 Create one process and assign it a name (e.g. dissociation).
Step 3 Connect p53 mdm2 to the dissociation process, and the dissociation process to p53 and mdm2.
Step 4 Set the dissociation speed using the speed parameter of the process (the defaults is 1.0).

Figure 51
Test the created model - Figure 52 shows its expected behavior.

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Figure 52
In the real system the dissociation speed is described by the formula: v=k*[m3], where: ’v’ is the
speed ’[m3]’ is the concentration of ’m3’ and ’k’ is a kinetic constant.

Figure 53

Figure 54

7.6

Inhibition

So far we have described models using process connectors only. In this example an inhibitory connector
will be explained.

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Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of TokyoA specific drug sometimes inhibits the activation of the transcription. The transcription modelfrom Section 7.3 can be modified to include inhibition:
Step 1 Create an entity and assign it a name (e.g. doxorubicine).
Step 2 Add one more process (p2) and connect it to the doxorubicine entity with a process connector.
Step 3 Connect the doxorubicine entity to the transcription process with an inhibitory connector(The threshold of the inhibitory connector is set to zero).
Several combinations of element type (process p1, doxorubicine) are possible in Steps 1 and 3, i.e.
(discrete, discrete), (discrete, continuous), and (continuous, continuous). Figure 55 shows only two of
the combinations: (continuous, continuous) and (discrete, discrete).

Figure 55

Figure 56
An inhibitor connector represses the response of the connected process. Whether the process isinhibited by the inhibitory connector depends on the relationship between the threshold value of theconnector, and the value of the entity. If the value of the entity is larger than the threshold value ofthe connector, the repression is enabled.
In this model (Figure 55), the transcription progresses at the starting point, as the initial valueof doxorubicin is set to zero. Then, the value of doxorubicin becomes larger than zero, and thetranscription process is stopped immediately. The results of the simulation are presented in Figure 56.

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The strength of a drug is represented by the threshold value of the inhibitory connector. Let’s set
the threshold value of the inhibitory connector to 5 (Figure 57). The drug will be effective if the valueof the entity representing the drug is above 5. If the value of the drug is under 5, the effect of the
drug will be weak, as shown in Figure 58.

Figure 57

Figure 58

7.7

Phosphorylation Mediated by Enzymatic Reactions - Association Connectors

Enzymatic reactions are important events in living organisms. An enzyme promotes or influenceschemical reactions without itself being destroyed or changed in any way. A model of an enzymatic
reaction can be created easily by using association connectors. To create a model, in which an
enzymatic reaction speeds up phosphorylation, execute the following steps:
Step 1 Create two entities and assign them names (e.g. p53 and p53-P) and values (e.g. 100 and 0),
respectively.
Step 2 Create a process and set its name (e.g. phosphorylation). Connect p53 to the process, andthe process to p53-P.
Step 3 Set the phosphorylation speed using the speed parameter of the phosphorylation process (thephosphorylation speed defaults to 1.0).
Step 4 Create one entity and set its name (e.g. CAK).

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Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo

Step 5 Create a process and connect it to CAK with a process connector.
Step 6 Connect CAK to the phosphorylation process with an association connector.
Step 7 Change the threshold of the association connector to 1 (the default value is 0).
Then, combinations of a process and an entity (CAK) added in Step 1 and Step 3 are (discrete, discrete), (discrete, continuous), and (continuous, continuous). Figure 59 shows one model ofcombinations, i.e, (continuous, continuous).

Figure 59
The association connector can promote the execution of a process. Whether the connected process
will be promoted depends on the comparison between the initial value of the input entity and thethreshold value of the association connector. If the initial value of the entity is larger than thethreshold value of the connector, the target process is enabled. The association connector, unlike aprocess connector, does not change the value of its input entity. The association connectors are usuallyused to express enzymatic reactions within the body. The results of the simulation are presented in
Figure 60.

Figure 60
The model in Figure 59 shows that the initial value of the entity (CAK) is set to zero. Because
it is smaller than the threshold of the association connector, the phosphorylation process does notproceed at the starting point. After the simulation is executed, however, the phosphorylation process
is repressed as shown in Figure 60, because the value of the entity (CAK) becomes larger than 1.

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The strength of an enzyme can be controlled by setting its threshold value. For example, if thethreshold value is changed from 1 to 5 (Figure 61), the effect of the enzyme will be apparent whenthe value becomes larger than 5. Otherwise, the effect of the enzyme will be weak (Figure 62).

Figure 61

Figure 62
In most systems, the reaction rate depends on enzyme (m3) and substrate (m1) concentrations.
In the example in Figure 63, the speed of the phosphorylation process is defined as the equation(m1*m3)/10 (10 is an example). Figure 63 shows a model composed of all continuous elements. The
results of the simulation are presented in Figure 64.

Figure 63

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Figure 64

7.8

Enzymatic Catalysis - Michaelis-Menten Kinetics

This section is devoted to creating a model of enzymatic catalysis according to Michaelis-Menten
theory.
Entities
There are four constituent elements in a simple enzymatic catalysis system: the substrate, theenzyme, the enzyme-substrate complex, and the product. Create four continuous entities representing these elements, and assign them descriptive names Figure 65

Figure 65
Processes
The first step of the catalysis is the formation of the enzyme-substrate complex. Place a continuous
process on the canvas, connect it to the entities with process connectors, as shown in Figure 66.
Name the process appropriately (’ES COMPLEX CREATION’). Assign to the SUBSTRATE andENZYME entities the values of 10,000 and 1,000, respectively. Assign to the process the speed givenby the formula S*E*2.5E-6. It represents the kinetic equation: v=k[S][E], where the rate constantk=2.5*10-6, [S] and [E] are the concentrations of the substrate and the enzyme, respectively.

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Figure 66
Once the substrate-enzyme complexes are formed, they start breaking down back to their constituent elements. Add the process representing this breakdown to the model. Assign it the speed of
ES*1E-2 Figure 67.

Figure 67
Finally, the catalyzed reaction may occur in a part of the enzyme-substrate complex population,
forming the product and re-creating the enzyme. Add the process representing this reaction to themodel. Assign it the speed of ES*1.5E-2 Figure 68.

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Figure 68
Running the model
In the time settings dialog, increase the simulation time to 3,000 [pt]. Add a chart displaying thevalues of all the entities in the model. Start the simulation. The chart should look like the one on
Figure 69.

Figure 69
Congratulations! Modify the values of the entities, the speeds of the processes, and the simulation
time. Study the system’s behavior. Under some circumstances the simulation may not run (especiallyin the case of a very high substrate to enzyme ratio). If this happens, decrease the time step, or turnon the ’continuous weak firing’ option in the simulation time settings dialog. Try to explain whatcaused the simulation to fail in the first place (hint: what is the criterion for firing a process in theclassical Petri net formalism?).

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SUMMARY

This tutorial has explained the installation and invoking of CI, on overview of concepts, and the editing
and simulating of models. Furthermore, you have also learned how to create models based on each ofreactions in living organisms.
In Tutorial II, you will learn how to create a passway combining each of reactions learned in
Tutorial I, to modify models, and to give feedback of biological experiments.

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References[1] Doi A, Fujita S, Matsuno H, Nagasaki M, Miyano S (2004) Constructing biopathway models withhybrid functional Petri nets, In Silico Biology 4(3).
[2] Doi A, Nagasaki M, Fujita S, Matsuno H, Miyano S (2004) Genomic Object Net: II, Modelingbiopathways by hybrid functional Petri net with extension, Applied Bioinformatics 2:185–188.
[3] Doi A, Nagasaki M, Matsuno H, Miyano S (2006) Simulation-based validation of the p53 transcriptional activity with hybrid functional Petri net, In Silico Biology 6(1-2):0001.
[4] Doi A, Nagasaki M, Ueno K, Matsuno H, Miyano S (2006) A combined pathway to simulate
CDK-dependent phosphorylation and ARF-dependent stabilization for p53 transcriptional activity, Genome Informatics 17(1):112-123.
[5] Matsuno H, Doi A, Hirata Y, Miyano S (2001) XML documentation of biopathways and theirsimulations in Genomic Object Net, Genome Informatics 12:54–62.
[6] Matsuno H, Doi A, Nagasaki M, Miyano S (2000) Hybrid Petri net representation of gene regulatory network, Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing 5: 341–352.
[7] Matsuno H, Fujita S, Doi A, Nagasaki M, Miyano S (2003) Towards biopathway modeling andsimulation, In: 24th International Conference on Applications and Theory of Petri Nets (ICATPN
2003), Volume 2679, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 3–22.
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[11] Nagasaki M, Doi A, Matsuno H, Miyano S, (2003) Recreating biopathway databases towards
simulation, In: Computational Methods in Systems Biology, Volume 2602 of Lecture Notes in
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[12] Nagasaki M, Doi A, Matsuno H, Miyano S, (2004) A versatile Petri net based architecture formodeling and simulation of complex biological processes, Genome Informatics 15(1): 180-197.
[13] Nagasaki M, Doi A, Matsuno H, Miyano S, (2004) Genomic Object Net:I, A platform for modelingand simulating biopathways, Applied Bioinformatics 2:181–184.
[14] Nagasaki M, Doi A, Matsuno H, Miyano S, (2004) Integrating biopathway databases for largescale modeling and simulation, In: The Second Asia-Pacific Bioinformatics Conference, Volume
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[15] Saito A, Nagasaki M, Doi A, Ueno K, Miyano S, (2006) Cell fate simulation model of gustatory neurons with microRNAs double-negative feedback loop by hybrid functional Petri net withextension, Genome Informatics, 17(1): 100–111.

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