목적: Currently, research on development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is ongoing worldwide, and interest in effective therapeutics is increasing rapidly. To succeed in development of a therapeutic or vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, knowledge of the exact immune responses in vivo respiratory tract is essential. In this study, efforts were made to check the infectivity of a local SARS-CoV-2 isolate in a self- limiting and non-lethal hamster model and evaluate the differential expression of host immune responses during acute infection. 방법:6 week-male Syrian golden hamsters were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (BetaCoV/Korea/SNU01/2020) through intranasal inoculation. SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics were tested using real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry and bulk-cell RNA sequencing. 결과:SARS-CoV-2-infected mice exhibited a significant decrease in mean body weight immediately after infection until 3 days postinfection (dpi) and recovered from 7 dpi. However, the lung-associated pathological changes were very prominent on the 4 dpi and severe pathologic findings in the lungs were noticed until 14 dpi with significantly higher histologic scores. We found significant increases in inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1beta, and TNF) in the nasal mucosa and lung tissue of SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters at 3 dpi and interferon-stimulated genes were also induced from 3 dpi, especially neutrophil recruitment factors. IFN-lambdas were induced from 7 days after infection whereas IFN-betas were not significantly elevated in both nasal mucosa and lung tissue. When IFN-lambda (2.5ug/ml) was administered to the nose, there was no significant changes in lung pathology but the expression of inflammatory cytokines was reduced in both nasal mucosa and the lungs. 결론:These findings will aid in understanding the characteristics of SARS- CoV-2 infection related with viral spread and replication in vivo respiratory tract and the potentials of IFN immune responses as a targeted therapeutic.