Together, these data confirm that the growth inhibitory effect of extracellular ATP is not mediated by its biotransformation to adenosine or adenosine uptake, and further demonstrate that the effect of extracellular ATP can be circumvented by an increase in cyclic nucleotides (e.g., cAMP/cGMP) following non-selective PDE inhibition in CRC cells. This evidence concerns the gene ALDH7A1 and colorectal carcinoma.