Kinases and phosphatases typically counter each other's functions in regulating phosphorylation of their common substrates. Kinases and phosphatases can also target themselves or each other - phosphatases can dephosphorylate kinases, thus affecting their properties (down-regulating or increasing catalytic activity, adding or removing binding sites of other proteins, etc.). Phosphatases can also auto-dephosphorylate, thereby altering their own properties.