One promising therapy for the treatment of Parkinson's disease is transplantation of embryonic ventral mesencephalic tissue. Unfortunately, up to 95% of grafted cells die, many via apoptosis. In this study we attempted to prevent anoikis‐induced cell death, which is triggered during the preparation of cells for grafting, and examine the impact on graft viability and function. We utilized the extracellular matrix molecule tenascin‐C (tenascin) and an antibody (Ab) to the cell adhesion molecule L1 to specifically mimic survival signals induced by cell–matrix and cell–cell interactions. In vitro, both tenascin‐ and L1 Ab‐treated cultures doubled the number of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (THir) neurons compared to control. Additionally, cell survival assays determined that tenascin and L1 Ab‐treated cell suspensions yielded more metabolically active and fewer dead cells than control suspensions. In contrast to the culture results, tenascin‐ and L1 Ab‐treated mesencephalic grafts did not yield an increase in the number of THir neurons using our standard grafting paradigm (3 μl of 100,000 cells/μl). However, under low‐density conditions (3 μl of 3,000 cells/μl), tenascin augmented grafted THir neuron survival. These findings are consistent with the view that cell density can dramatically influence the degree of stress placed on THir neurons and consequently affect the success of survival strategies in vivo. In conclusion, pretreatment with tenascin may prove beneficial to prevent anoikis in dilute cell suspension grafts, while long‐term in vivo delivery methods need to be explored to determine if L1 can prevent anoikis in grafts of mesencephalic dopamine neurons after transplantation. J. Comp. Neurol. 464:172–179, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.