=Paper= {{Paper |id=None |storemode=property |title=Two Modeling Methods for Signaling Pathways with Multiple Signals using UPPAAL |pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-724/paper7.pdf |volume=Vol-724 }} ==Two Modeling Methods for Signaling Pathways with Multiple Signals using UPPAAL== https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-724/paper7.pdf
        Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Biological Processes & Petri Nets (BioPPN2011)
                                                           online: http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-724 pp.87-101




    Two modeling methods for signaling pathways
        with multiple signals using UPPAAL

                       Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

        Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamaguchi University
                    2-16-1 Tokiwadai, Ube, 755-8611, Japan
                  E-mail : {r033vk, shingo}@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp



      Abstract. Model checking has been attracting attention to analyze sig-
      naling pathways. There are two or more, i.e. multiple, signals flowing in
      a signaling pathway. Most of previous work, however, have treated only
      one, i.e. single, signal. To analyze a signaling pathway more precisely, it
      is necessary to treat multiple signals. There is few previous work treating
      multiple signals. It is known that a primary issue in model checking is
      the state-space explosion. Multiple signals make it difficult to analyze by
      model checking. In this paper, we propose two modeling methods for sig-
      naling pathways with multiple signals. These methods transform a Petri
      net model of a signaling pathway to an automaton model of UPPAAL.
      The first method uses multiple automata as a model of UPPAAL. The
      second method uses a single automaton as a model of UPPAAL. We ap-
      ply these methods to an example. And we find that the single automaton
      modeling method is more effective than the multiple automata model-
      ing method from the viewpoint of the number of signals, the number of
      states explored, and checking time. These results show that the model
      size to be analyzed is improved by devising of modeling method.


1    Introduction

Signaling pathway is a signaling mechanism to unify the behavior of cells. Since a
pathway is large and complex, there are unknown mechanisms and components.
Some researchers have applied model checking to analysis of signaling pathways.
Model checking is an automatic and usually quite fast verification technique
for finite state concurrent systems. In 2003, Chabrier et al.[1] applied NuSMV
to analysis of biological pathways, and in 2009, Bos et al.[2] applied UPPAAL
to analysis of a signaling pathway. They also described that model checking is
powerful, but the state-space explosion may happen. Note that both [1] and [2]
treated only one signal.
    There are two or more, i.e. multiple, signals in a signaling pathway because
a ligand joins a receptor repeatedly. To analyze the signaling pathway more
precisely, it is necessary to treat multiple signals. There is few previous work
treating multiple signals. Kwiatkowska et al.[3] described that model checking
of multiple signals cause the state-space explosion further than that of a single
signal in performing model checking by PRISM.




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2       Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

    In this paper, we propose two modeling methods for signaling pathways with
multiple signals. These methods transform a Petri net model of a signaling path-
way to an automaton model of UPPAAL. Cassez et al.[4] proposed a method for
transforming a time Petri net to an timed automaton. But this method tends to
increase the size of an automaton. Our methods can give a smaller automaton
model. The first method uses multiple automata as a model of UPPAAL. The
second method uses a single automaton as a model of UPPAAL. We apply these
methods to an example. Then we evaluate the methods from the viewpoint of
the number of signals, the number of states explored, and checking time. Finally,
we discuss whether we can increase the model size to be analyzed by devising of
modeling method.
    In Sect.2, we present a Petri net model of signaling pathways and an au-
tomaton model of UPPAAL. In Sect.3, we propose two modeling method for a
signaling pathway with multiple signals. In Sect.4, we apply the two proposed
methods to an example and evaluate the two methods. Finally, Sect.5 gives a
conclusion and some future work.


2     Preliminary

2.1   Petri net model

Matsuno et al.[5, 6] have proposed a Petri net model of signaling pathways. The
Petri net model can represent multiple signals as multiple tokens. Places denote
static elements including chemical compounds, conditions, states, substances and
cellular organelles. Tokens indicate the presence of these elements. The number
of tokens is given to represent the amount of chemical substances. Transitions
denote active elements including chemical reactions, events, actions, conversions
and catalyzed reactions. Directed arcs connecting the places and the transitions
represent the relations between corresponding static elements and active ele-
ments.
    The formal definition of a Petri net model of a signaling pathway is as follows.
Definition 1. A Petri net model of a signaling pathway is a 5-tuple T P N R =
(T, P, E, D, R).
    T : A set of transitions {t1 , t2 , · · · , t|T | }
    P : A set of places {p1 , p2 , · · · , p|P | }
    E : A set of directed arcs between the places and the transitions
    D : T → N : A function to assign a firing delay time to a transition
    R : T → [0, 1] : A function∑to assign a firing rate to a transition.
                     Note that t∈p• R(t) = 1.                                    □
There are one or more source transitions and one or more sink transitions. Every
node is on a path from a source transition to a sink transition. If a firing of a
transition ti is decided, tokens required for the firing are reserved. We call these
tokens as reserved tokens. When D(ti ) passes, ti fires to remove the reserved
tokens from each input place of ti and put non-reserved tokens into each out-
put place of ti . If a place pi has two or more output transitions, each output




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             Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with multiple signals                          3

transition can’t fire over R(ti ). Let X(t) be the firing count of t. Then, ∀t ∈ p•
: ∑ ′ X(t)  ′
       • X(t )
               ≤ R(t). Figure 1 is a Petri net model of a part of IL-1 signaling
      t ∈p
pathway[6].

2.2     Automaton model of UPPAAL
UPPAAL[7] is a model checking tool for verification of real-time systems. This
tool can use timed automata as state transition models. We use the following
notations: C is a set of clocks and B(C) is the set of conjunctions over simple
conditions of the form x ▷◁ c or x − y ▷◁ c, where x, y ∈ C, c ∈ N and ▷◁∈
{<, ≤, =, ≥, >}. A timed automaton is a finite directed graph annotated with
conditions over and resets of non-negative real valued clocks.
Definition 2. A timed automaton is a 6-tuple (L, l0 , C, Act, E, I).
    L : A set of locations
    l0 ∈ L : The initial location
    C : A set of clocks
    Act : A set of actions
    E ⊆ L × Act × B(C) × 2C × L : A set of edges between locations with an
    action, a guard and a set of clocks to be reset
    I : L → B(C) : A function to assign to an invariant to a location              □
Timed automata often form a network over a common set of clocks and actions,
consisting of n timed automata Ai = (Li , li0 , C, Act, Ei , Ii ), 1 ≤ i ≤ n. For the
semantics of the automaton model, refer to [8].
                             t64                                          t69
                      D(t64)=12                                    D(t69)=15
                                   e1                                                e3




                    t65                 t66                     t70                       t71
                D(t64)=30                D(t66)=20          D(t70)=30                      D(t71)=30
                R(t64)=0.4               R(t66)=0.6         R(t70)=0.5                     R(t71)=0.5

                                   e2                                                e4



                             t67
                     D(t67)=60                        t72
                     R(t67)=0.2
                                                      D(t72)=15
                                                      R(t72)=0.8
                                   e5


                                                                    t75
                                                               D(t75)=15
                          t68
                     D(t68)=60
                                                                                e6




                                                                    t76
                                                               D(t76)=15

                                                                                e7




                                                                    t82
                                                               D(t82)=12


                Fig. 1. A part of Petri net model of IL-1 signaling pathway




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 4          Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

    In model checking in UPPAAL, we describe a property to be analyzed in
 Timed Computation Tree Logic (TCTL) and we can verify whether the model
 with clock variables satisfies the property by running model checking. TCTL on
 UPPAAL includes E<> p (There exists a path where p eventually holds) and
 A[] p (For all paths p always holds).


 3      Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with
        multiple signals

 A Petri net model representing a signaling pathway must be correct. We use
 UPPAAL to verify whether a Petri net model is correct, because the Petri net
 model includes time concept. The model used in this paper is timed Petri net,
 but it is easy to extend our method to time Petri nets.
     It is known that model checking is powerful but may cause the state-space ex-
 plosion. The more signals are, the more the problem becomes severe. Kwiatkowska
 et al.[3] mentioned that model checking with multiple signals cause the state-
 space explosion further than that with a single signal. It is known that there is
 a tradeoff between expressive power and analytical power. To balance the pow-
 ers, we need to devise modeling methods. Concretely, we propose two modeling
 methods. The first method uses multiple automata as a model of UPPAAL. It is
 named “multiple automata modeling method.” The second method uses a single
 automaton as a model of UPPAAL. It is named “single automaton modeling
 method.”


 3.1      Multiple automata model and single automaton model

 We give the representation model used in each modeling method. Both models
 have the same expressive power as a Petri net model; provided that the Petri net
 model has no transition branches. Note that those models can treat transition
 joins. We give a simple example to show the difference between the multiple
 automata model and the single automaton model.




           t1                     time:0         time:12            time:21                    time:24
     D(t1)=12                              t1              t2                         t1
                 p1                0   0          1   0                 0   1                      1   1

                                                                                     t3
           t2
       D(t2)=9                                                  time:27                    time:33              time:39
                 p2
                                                                                t2                         t3
                                                                1   0                      0   1                0   0

           t3
     D(t3)=12                              (b) A state transition of the case t1 fires twice

(a) A Petri net model

                      Fig. 2. A Petri net model T P N R1 of a signaling pathway




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         Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with multiple signals      5

(1) Multiple automata model
    The multiple automata model preserves the structure of a given Petri net
    model as much as possible. A Petri net model with n signals is represented
    as the following:
      • The multiple automata model of the Petri net model consists of n au-
        tomata.
      • Each automaton represents the state transition of a single signal.
      • A place or a transition is represented as a location.
      • An arc is represented as an edge.
      • Firing delay time is implemented by using a location invariant and a
        guard.
    In this example, we use a Petri net model, T P N R1 , which is shown in Fig.2.
    Figure 2(a) is a Petri net model and Fig.2(b) is a state transition of the
    case t1 fires twice. Since T P N R1 is state machine, the reachability graph
    has a similar structure as the net. Figure 3 shows the multiple automata
    model of T P N R1 . In this example, we assume that source transition t1 fires
    twice. There are two signals in this model. The two signals are represented
    as two automata. Two places and three transitions are represented as five
    locations. Four arcs are represented as four edges. Firing delay time D(t1 ) =
    12 is implemented by using location invariant (gc1<=12) of t1 and guard
    (gc1>=12) of edge (t1,p1), where gc1 denotes a global clock. Similarly, firing
    delay time D(t2 ) = 9 is implemented by using location invariant (c<=9) of




                 Fig. 3. The multiple automata model of T P N R1




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6       Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

                    Table 1. Variables of single automaton model

               Variable                                     Meaning
      clock gc1, gc2, · · ·, gcm                  Clock for source transitions
             clock c[k]                             Clock of the i-th signal
              int xf[k]                       Firing delay time of the i-th signal
       int mp1, mp2, · · ·, mp|P |                The number of signals in pi
       int tf1, tf2, · · ·, tf|T |    Signal ID of the first reserved signal in transition ti
int tx1[k], tx2[k], · · ·, tx|T |[k]          Signal IDs reserved in transition ti
     int l1, l2, · · ·, r1, r2, · · ·  The firing count of a transition in a place branch
    void t1res(), t2res(),· · ·                       Reset c[] and xf[]
  void freetx1(), freetx2(),· · ·         Organize reserved signal IDs of transition ti



    p1 and t2 and guard (c>=9) of edge (p1,t2), where c denotes a local clock.
    D(t3 ) is implemented by a similar way. A current state of the automata
    represents where the signals are now.

(2) Single automaton model
    The single automaton model represents a given Petri net model as a single
    automaton with only one location even if there are two or more signals. A
    Petri net model with n signals is represented as the following:




                   Fig. 4. The single automaton model of T P N R1




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    Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with multiple signals        7

  • The single automaton model consists of a single automaton with only
    one location.
  • The automaton represents multiple signals by using clocks c[] and vari-
    ables xf[].
  • The markings of the places are represented as variables mp1, mp2, · · ·,
    mp|P |.
  • A firing of each transition is represented as a self loop of the location.
  • Firing delay time is implemented by using a location invariant and a
    guard.
Figure 4 shows the single automaton model of T P N R1 . Figure 5 is the state
transition of the single automaton model. Places p1 , p2 are represented as
a single location with variables mp1, mp2, where mpi denotes the marking
of pi . The state transition of marking is same as Fig.2(b). Table 1 is the
variables used in single automaton model. A firing of t1 , t2 , t3 is repre-
sented as edge (A), (B), (C). A global clock gc1 is assigned for the source
transition t1 . Clocks c[] and variables xf[] are assigned for signals. k is
the maximum number of signals in the pathway. xf[i] denotes the firing
delay time of the i -th signal. Multiple signals are represented as a single
location with c[] and xf[]. Firing delay time of the i -th signal is imple-
mented by using location invariant (c[i]<=xf[i]) and guard (c[i]>=xf[i]).
In a firing of transition t1 (Edge (A)), action (xf[tf1]:=9) means setting
the firing delay time of next transition t2 . tfi denotes the signal ID of the
first reserved signal in transition ti . Action (tx2[i2]:=tf1) means reserv-
ing the signal that fires on t1 to next transition t2 . txi[k] stores signal
IDs reserved in transition ti . (tf2:=tx2[0]) removes the first reserved sig-
nal ID of transition t2 . In a firing of the transition t2 (Edge (B)), action
(mp1--, mp2++, c[tf2]:=0, xf[tf2]:=0, tx3[i3]:=tf2, tf3:=tx3[0])


   time:0    time:1                  time:12        time:13
  mp1=0      mp1=0                   mp1=1          mp1=1
  mp2=0      mp2=0                   mp2=0          mp2=0
                      t1 has fired
  gc1=0      gc1=1                  gc1=0           gc1=1
  c[1]=0     c[1]=1       Edge(A)   c[1]=0          c[1]=1
  c[2]=0     c[2]=1   mp1++,        c[2]=12         c[2]=13
                      c[tf1]:=0,
  tf1=1               xf[tf1]:=9,   xf[1]=9
                      tx2[i2]:=tf1,   =D(t2)
                      i2++,         tx2[0]=1
                      tf2:=tx2[0], tf1=2
                      gc1:=0,       tf2=1
                      t1res()


                                          time:21                  time:24
                                         mp1=0                     mp1=1
                                         mp2=1                     mp2=1
                          t2 has fired              t1 has fired
                                         gc1=9                  gc1=0
                             Edge(B)     c[1]=0       Edge(A)   c[1]=3
                         mp1--,mp2++,    c[2]=21  mp1++,        c[2]=0
                         c[tf2]:=0,               c[tf1]:=0,
                         xf[tf2]:=6,     xf[1]=6 xf[tf1]:=9,    xf[2]=9
                         tx3[i3]:=tf2,     =D(t3) tx2[i2]:=tf1,   =D(t2)
                         i3++,           tx3[0]=1 i2++,         tx2[0]=2
                         tf3:=tx3[0],    tf3=1    tf2:=tx2[0], tf2=0
                         freetx2(),      tf2=0    gc1:=0,       tf1=1
                         tf2:=tx2[0]              t1res()



     Fig. 5. The state transition of single automaton model of T P N R1




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8        Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

      is the same role as above. freetx2() organizes reserved signal IDs of t2 .
      xf[0] denotes the end time. In this model, we can analyze the model until
      xf[0].


3.2     Transformation algorithms

In this subsection, we give, for each modeling method, an algorithm for trans-
forming a Petri net to an automaton model. Due to limitations of space, we
restrict the algorithm to the modeling of a single path Petri net model.

(1) Multiple automata modeling method
    <>
    Input: Petri net model T P N R = (P, T, E, D, R), number n of signals
    Output: Multiple automata model A1 , A2 , · · ·, An

    Foreach i = 1 to n, make Ai according to the following:
      1. L ← P ∪ T
      2. C ← {gc1, ci}
      3. E ← {(p, ∅,(ci>= D(t)), ∅, t)| (p, t) ∈ A}
           ∪ {(t, (gc1:=0, ci:=0), (gc1>=D(t)), {gc1, ci}, p)| |• t| = 0, (t, p) ∈ A}
           ∪ {(t, (ci := 0), ∅, {ci}, p)| |t• | > 0, (t, p) ∈ A}
      4. I ← {(t, (gc1<=D(t1 )))| t ∈ T, |• t| = 0}
           ∪ {(t, (ci<=D(t)))| t ∈ T, |t• | > 0}
           ∪ {(p, (ci<=D(t)))| p ∈ P, t is the output transition of p}
(2) Single automaton modeling method
    <>
    Input: Petri net model T P N R = (P, T, E, D, R), number n of signals
    Output: Single automaton model A, variables mp1, mp2, · · ·, mp|P |, tf1, tf2,
    · · ·, tf|T|, xf[], tx1[], tx2[], · · ·, tx|T |[].

      1. L ← {l0 }
      2. C ← {gc1, c[1], c[2],· · ·, c[k]}
      3. E ← {(l0 , (mp1++, c[tf1]:=0, xf[tf1]:=D(t2 ), tx2[i2]:=tf1, i2++,
         tf2:=tx2[0], gc1:=0, t1res()), (gc1>=D(t1 )), {gc1, c[tf1]}, l0 )}
         ∪ {(l0 , (mp|P |--, c[tf|T|]:=0, xf[tf|T |]:=10000, freetx|T|(), tf|T |
         :=tx|T |[0]), (c[tf|T |]>=xf[tf|T |] && xf[tf|T |]==D(t|T | ))), {c[tf|T |
         ]},∪l0 )}
         ∪ i=2to|T |−1 {(l0 , (mp(i−1)--, mpi++, c[tfi]:=0, xf[tfi]:=D(t(i+1) ),tx
         (i + 1)[i(i + 1)]:=tfi,i(i + 1)++, tf(i + 1):=tx(i + 1)[0], freetxi(),
         tfi:=txi[0]), (c[tfi]>=xf[tfi]&&xf[tfi]==D(ti )), {c[tfi]}, l0 )}
         t1res() resets c[] and xf[].
         freetxi() organizes reserved signal IDs of transition ti .
      4. I ← {(l0 , (c[0]<=xf[0]&&c[1]<=xf[1]&&· · · &&c[k]<=xf[k]&&
         gc1<=D(t1 )))}




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              Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with multiple signals   9

3.3     Pattern lists
We give the pattern lists of transforming TPNR to multiple automata model and
single automaton model to ease the transformation. Multiple automata model

      Table 2. The pattern list of transforming TPNR to multiple automata model

       TPNR model                                   multiple automata model
 Multiple source transitions

            D(t1)=10           D(t2)=12
       t1                t2

             p1                    p2




            A place branch

                        p1



                   t1   D(t1)=10
                        p2




       t2                     t3
       D(t2)=20               D(t3)=30
       R(t2)=0.6              R(t3)=0.4




        A transition join

              p1                        p2




                   t1    D(t1)=10


                        p3




             A place join

               p1                       p2




       t1                     t2
   D(t1)=10                         D(t2)=15
                         p3




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10      Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

and single automaton model can be created by combination of these patterns.
Table 2 is the pattern list of transforming TPNR to multiple automata model.
c is a local clock and gc is a global clock.




     Table 3. The pattern list of transforming TPNR to single automaton model

                  TPNR model                                   single automaton model
            Multiple source transitions

                     D(t1)=10             D(t2)=12
                t1                  t2

                      p1                      p2




                     A place branch

                                   p1



                              t1   D(t1)=10
                                   p2




                t2                       t3
                D(t2)=20                 D(t3)=30
                R(t2)=0.6                R(t3)=0.4




                  A transition join
                         p1                        p2




                              t1    D(t1)=10


                                   p3



                      A place join

                         p1                        p2




                  t1                     t2
              D(t1)=10                         D(t2)=15
                                    p3




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        Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with multiple signals     11

 – The first column is for multiple source transitions. Location source is a
   global source. This location implements all of the firing delay times of source
   transition with global clocks, gc1, gc2.
 – The second column is for a place branch. A place branch is implemented
   by using l and r. l denotes the firing count of t2, and r denotes the firing
   count of t3. And guard ((l+r)*40>=l*100) limits that firing count of t2.
   t3 is implemented by a similar way of t2 but firing delay time of t3 is longer
   than that of t2. So, the blacken location is added to implement the firing
   delay time.
 – The third column is for a transition join. A transition join is implemented
   by channels t1fire! and t1fire?. A signal on p1 and a signal on p2 are
   synchronized, then two signals fires on t1. The blacken location is added to
   abandon the signal on p2.
 – The fourth column is for a place join. A place join is implemented by a
   similar way of <>.

Table 3 is the pattern list of transforming TPNR to single automaton model. c
is a local clock and gc is a global clock.

 – The first column is for multiple source transitions. Edge (A) implements a
   firing of t1 and edge (B) implements a firing of t2 . Firing delay times of t1
   and t2 are implemented by global clocks gc1 and gc2.
 – The second column is for a place branch. Edge (A) implements the firing
   of transition t1 with substituting 0 in xf[] and tf2bra3 stores the signal
   ID that isn’t reserved. Edges (B) and (D) are limiting the firing count by
   similar way of multiple automata model and reserve a signal to transition t2
   or t3 . Edges (C) and (E) implement the firing of transitions t2 and t3 .
 – The third column is for a transition join. A transition join is implemented
   by only updating variables mp1 and mp2.
 – The fourth column is for a place join. A place join is implemented by a
   similar way of <>. Edge (A)
   implements the firing of transition t1 and edge (B) implements the firing of
   transition t2 .


4   Application example: IL-1 signaling pathway

In this section, we apply the proposed modeling methods to IL-1 signaling path-
way. And we compare the obtained models and discuss the merits and demerits
of the modeling methods.
    IL-1 is a proinflammatory cytokine, and plays an important role in regulating
the mechanism of proinflammatory. There cause multiple signals flowing in the
signaling pathway because a ligand joins a receptor repeatedly. The whole Petri
net model of IL-1 signaling pathway is shown in Fig.3 of [9].
    The correctness of the model must be examined. We can check the correctness
of the model by model checking. For example,




                                    97
12     Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

 – We can check the reachability with time concept. Checking the reachabil-
   ity helps us to understand signaling pathways. Let c be a clock, we write a
   TCTL expression of this property as E<> M (p1 )>0 && c==30. This expres-
   sion means there exists a path where a signal is on p1 when c is 30.
 – We can also check that there is no retention in the model. Retention means
   that signals are accumulated at any place. We write a TCTL expression of
   this property as A[] M (p1 )<=5. This expression means that the number
   M (p1 ) of signals for place p1 is always 5 or less.

In this paper, we focus on checking the retention. If there is retention in the
Petri net model, we consider the error in the Petri net model or the possible of
unknown paths in the signaling pathway.
   We apply two modeling methods to a part of IL-1, which is shown in Fig.1.
The size of the Petri net model is |P | = 7, |T | = 12. Figure 6 shows the multiple
automata model of Fig.1. Figure 7 shows the single automaton model of Fig.1.




Fig. 6. The multiple automata model of the part of IL-1 signaling pathway. Each
automaton represents the behavior of a single signal.




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         Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with multiple signals        13




Fig. 7. The single automaton model of the part of IL-1 signaling pathway. This au-
tomaton represents the behavior of multiple signals.


This Petri net model includes three source transitions, therefore we applied the
first column of each pattern list at the case of three source transitions. Places e1 ,
e2 , and e3 have two output transitions, therefore we applied the second column
of each pattern list. We applied the third column of each pattern list for transi-
tion t72 because t72 has two input places. And we applied the fourth column of
each pattern list for place e7 because e7 has two input places.
     Table 4 shows the size and the number of clocks and variables of the obtained
models. The size of each automaton of the multiple automata model is |L| = 23,
and |E| = 26. In comparison, the size of the single automaton model is |L| = 1,
and |E| = 19. The number of clocks of the multiple automata model is 3+n,
and the number of variables is 6, where n is the number of signals. The number
of clocks of the single automaton model is 48, and the number of variables is




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14        Shota Nakano and Shingo Yamaguchi

     Table 4. Evaluation results of example 1: IL-1 signaling pathway |P |=7, |T |=12

    Model              Number         Number        Number of states Checking
                       of signals n   of clocks     explored          time(min)
    Multiple           39             42            139858            2
    automata           78             81            770854            110
    |L|=23, |E|=26     128            131           2205987           180
    variables:6        129            132                    Out of memory
    Single             107            48            581918            5
    automaton          325            48            2393918           20
    |L|=1, |E|=19      702            48            5505758           35
    variables:53       703            48                     Out of memory

40. In addition, the number of arrays is 13. The number of clocks continue to
increase according to the number of signals n in the multi automata model, but
the number of clocks is constant in the single automaton model. The size of the
single automaton model is smaller than the size of the multiple automata model,
but the number of variables of single automaton model is larger than that of the
multiple automata model under the same expressive power.
     We can analyze the retention property by using those automaton models.
Table 4 shows the number of signals, the number of states explored, checking
time. Model checking is performed on the PC with CPU Xeon 2.13GHz and
memory 3.2Gbyte. We could check the retention property of the multiple au-
tomata model until the number of signals is 128. Meanwhile we could check that
of the single automaton model until the number of signals is 702. The single au-
tomaton model enables us to analyze more signals than the multiple automata
model. The number of states explored of the single automaton model is smaller
than the multiple automata model, and checking time is also shorter.



5      Conclusion

In this paper, we proposed two modeling methods for signaling pathways with
multiple signals. Those modeling methods use different representation model.
Next we gave for each representation model, a transformation algorithm, and
a pattern list. Then we applied these proposed methods to the IL-1 signaling
pathway. The results show that signaling pathway with multiple signals should be
represented as not automata but variables, and the model size to be analyzed can
be increased by devising of modeling method. We have also applied these method
to endocytosis signaling pathway, and a similar trend have been obtained.
    As future work, we plan to develop a method treating transition branches. An
approach is to prepare child process for implementing parallel part and devising
the clock handling. And we think that it is easy to extend our method to time
Petri net model. We will verify that our method can be applied to time Petri
net model.




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         Two modeling methods for signaling pathways with multiple signals          15

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Prof. Hiroshi Matsuno, Prof. Qi-Wei Ge, and
Mr. Yuki Murakami for their valuable advices.


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