COL4A1 and microphthalmia: To further understand ECM overproduction in microphthalmia, LUM, COL4A1, and NID2 were selected for further analysis due to their specific role in eye development and prior association with ocular maldevelopment (Bryan et al., 2020, Sijilmassi et al., 2021, Song et al., 2016, Yeh et al., 2010).