For MHC class-I-restricted GP33–41 peptide (2 µg/ml) or MHC class-II restricted GP67–77 (5 µg/ml) stimulation and staining were carried out as we have previously described (31 (link)). For polyclonal stimulation we used PMA (10 ng/ml) and ionomicyn (0.5 µg/ml) in place of peptide. For intracellular IL-21 staining, cells were permeabilized with saponin and incubated with 1:25 dilution of mouse IL-21R-human Fc (R&D Systems) for 30 minutes at 4°C, washed twice and stained with 1:200 anti-human Fc-PE (BD Pharmingen).